If felt like ages since Yuki had entered the online world of SAO, ages since she had been trapped inside the game by it's own creator, and ages since she had really thought about if she was actually going to get back to her real life. She loved the online world of SAO, and whether she was trapped or not, this world was her reality now. She thought about that as she stood amongst a large crowd on floor 5. It was lower than the actual level she was on skill wise, and she really was quite a bit stronger than the monster here. But a new threat to the game's way of life had presented itself, and Yuki wanted to know what was going on. She had noticed it herself, that monsters could now enter the safe zones and attack the players. It had created a lot of trouble for the lower leveled players, some people had even died from the attacks. Yuki couldn't believe it, and she really wanted to be one of the people that helped set things right.

"Okay, so we need a group of people to go scout out this problem and fix it while our top players continue to remain on the front lines. Obviously, we can't take everyone out of battle but we need this problem solved," The commander of the top guild said. Yuki thought his name was Commander Wolfe, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure. Truth was, she was bad at names, but she knew his face. She'd seen him around enough and heard of him enough that she knew who he was by sight. She sighed quietly to herself, knowing that she was going to volunteer for this mission. She gripped her shield tightly, it hanging loosely from her hand as she listened to the Commander's speech. She wondered who would be joining her on this quest, since she was obviously not going to be alone.

"Are we going to be staying on Floor 5 or going to a higher floor?" One player asked and Yuki cocked her head to the side a little. It was a good question, one she wondered herself what the answer to it would be.
"The immediate threat is on Floor 5 so we'd like for the party to stay here to figure out what is going on initially. Whether or not you will be moving to another floor will depend on what you find out about this problem with the monsters," The Commander said diplomatically and Yuki nodded a little in understanding, "We'd like for about five people to go. Now I know that a party is compromised usually of six players, but five would be a good number to go for as well. Anyone that would like to help out would be welcome too, granted that your level is high enough to actually be of assistance," He said with a small smile.

Yuki knew her level would be good enough, she wasn't as high up as some players but she had managed to reach level fifteen and that was pretty decent for her. She needed to work on raising her level even higher, but right now the threat facing the players was more important. She raised her free hand, a stern look on her face as she knew what she was going to do, "I'll go," She said in a soft voice. She knew how she looked, gripping her shield, her black hair falling down her back as a slight wind rustled it. She expected that the Commander was hoping for big burly men to volunteer. But Yuki was fast, and she had good accuracy. She was a good fighter, and she knew she wanted to help.

"Alright, we got one very brave lady here. Anyone else?" The Commander called, chuckling softly and then turning his attention to the rest of the crowd, the stern look back on his face. Some people in the crowd continued to look at Yuki. Some with pity, some with awe, some of them looked thankful that she volunteered. She just hoped she had a good group to go with her, she didn't want to be carrying all the weight.

Mez's mind was already made up. He would be going. That was what he had been paid for, as he stood in a large crowd which had been summoned by Commander Wolfe. He was the leader of the top Guild within SAO, the death game that had enslaved the players' minds and forced them to live in a virtual world. Not that he really resented the fact. Mez was still here to prove he was the best, trapped or not. When he stepped forward, his hand nonchalantly grasping the handle of his greatsword that hung across his back, people turned to see who else would be going on the mission. "I shall join her." He stated. Hushed whispers quickly danced about the crowd, undoubtedly noting who he was and the Guild he was the leader of. "My fee has already been paid, so I shall see to it that this task is completed swiftly." He nodded towards the Commander as he said so.

Wolfe had come to him directly, a few days prior to the meeting, requesting his services to help deal with the matter that was the roaming monsters. Over the past five levels, Mez, along with his Guild, had quickly made a name throughout the player-base. The Crimson Lords were a Guild currently comprised of only three members, himself included. All at level 18, they were currently the highest level in the game, joined with a handful of other players. What made them standout, however, was the fact that each of them was a Solo Player and had played during the Beta of the game. Where some resented them, many others came to them for help. That's when Mez decided to start charging people. Initially, the idea didn't go down too well but, after two weeks, messages for help quickly began to pour in again. Mez would delegate jobs between himself, Rhan and Ashe. They would each go alone and rarely were all three of them seen together in the same place. Even now, Rhan and Ashe were on completely different floors completing jobs and collecting Col.

The Guild had worked this way since the 2nd floor and they were beginning to establish a steady pace at which they could complete jobs. Mez was often recruited for front line work, Rhan preferred crafting quests and Ashe would take on dungeon runs. Bounties were taken on a case-by-case basis. The three would look over the information given and see which of them were better suited to capturing the criminal. So far they'd only dealt with Orange Players but there was rising talk of Red Players making themselves and their horrific deeds known. It wouldn't be long before bounties would come in for those players. But that could wait for another time. Right now, Mez had to focus on the task ahead, which was stopping the rampaging monsters.

"Come on Jon," Alder pleaded "you are going to be the toughest guy any of these people are going to see in the game. I mean a modern day warrior would obviously have the edge on combat compared to a bunch of nerds like me."

For the last week Alder had been trying to convince Jon to try this game when it comes out, but Jon just was not a gamer.

"Or I will look like a damned fool trying to stay a float."

Jon would find himself in the game any way, convinced that it would be better if Alder were not alone in a virtual world. On the launch day he would go in while Alder listened in one of many business meetings he would be apart of that day... Meetings that more than likely saved his life. Jon had waited and practiced his sword play and by the time he felt like he needed to check in on Alder it was too late and trap was sprung. . .

Now he's on floor five, with a reputation for having one of the best shield skills in the game. There were a lot of people he knew on the first floor that helped him get this far, they were still down there and he couldn't let anything happen to them. The big man pounded his targe with his war hammer and spoke.

"Count my shield and I in. We shall defend this first floor." So that makes three. He had heard of Mez but not the woman, and from Mez's reputation he wasn't too worried about any floor 1 creatures getting the better of them.

A shape flitted through a grassy plain, Floor 1, where it all began. Jackson was slashing his way through boars with ease that only a beta tester had at that time. The swordsman had just learned that there was not log out button and that all this was some sort of sick game. If you looked closely you would see tears streaming down his face.

Fear, anger, sadness, all coursing through him at once; it was almost overwhelming. Even through his mental anguish he continued to slice through his enemies. Soon his fear and sadness turned into determination, he was not going to die here! He had a whole life to live after this one and he sure as hell wasn't going to lose to a damned game.



Jackson listened closely as Commander Wolfe spoke, remembering their earlier conversation. Normally a solo player like Jack wouldn't have accepted what Wolfe asked of him, but helping the helpless was a soft spot for him. So as he watched as three people volunteered. A teen girl, a guy, and a man. Jack recognized the teen who seemed around his age as Mez, the leader of The Crimson Lords. He would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed, Mez had reached the same level as him. Jack thought he was the only one who was level 18 until he heard about them.

Jack raised his hand and grinned, "I'll be joining them," he said, Commander Wolfe nodded. "Anyone else? We need one more volunteer," the man asked as he looked over the crowd.

Jackson sighed, hopefully he could at least get some XP during this little mission. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this place at level 18, that was for sure.

The Town of Beginnings was quieter now. Most of the players had advanced up through the dungeons to the higher floors. Kitty sat on the roof of a small building, staring out over the rooftops and the rolling green hills in the background. However the atmosphere here was different now. She remembered the first day, how hopeful and excited everyone had been. How quickly that had turned to fear when they’d discovered the truth. However most had moved on, the weaker left behind. It had been quiet for a long time, everyone finding a kind of content peace down here.

Everything was different now. Recently monsters had been invading the safe zones and people had been dying. People were frightened. Hell she was frightened. Whilst the girl had ventured up into the higher floors every now and then she was still considered a low level player at level 10. Below her she heard a small soft whimpering and the girl glanced down. Below her a small orange and yellow dog-like creature with black stripped markings on its back was looking up at her anxiously. Kitty smiled slightly and jumped back down to the ground. The dog barking happily as she knelt down to cuddle it.

She’d received the companion up on floor six, which was about as high as she’d gone about a month ago and although he was still a puppy and small she'd been told he'd grow to be very big and intimidating if she leveled him up enough even though she was happy with the way he was now. She’d named him Beau and they’d stuck to the lower levels since then. Kitty understood some’s desire to advance, however she didn’t feel she was aggressive or skilled enough to be of any use to the front line. But there was hope. She’d heard that there was a gathering up on floor five asking for higher level players to come down to try and help with the problem. For now all they had to do was survive. “We just have to keep surviving.” She repeated aloud as she ruffled Beau’s fur, burying her face into his fur as he licked her.

"I'll go!" Squeaked another daring runt who was shaking in his boots moments before the mission was announced so it wasn't too much of a surprise they chose to head back down before they were annihilated up here.

"Alright then, Mez will lead the team going to the first floor as he is the most experienced. Remember that your mission is to scout out this problem and fix it. If this is just rumor and you find nothing there then return for a debrief. Mez, I'll let you take it from here."@Kalas

Bosco and the Runt moved out of the group and over to where Mez had called from before.

Yuki surveyed the small group that had so far volunteered to rid the world of Aincrad of the threat it had been subjected to. She glanced at the new recruits with curious eyes. She'd heard of at least one of them, glancing at Mez and knowing him based on the rumors she heard circulating around about him and his guild. He was an excellent player, his skill outmatching hers greatly in many ways. She was impressed someone so strong would want to help the lower floors and players, most high levels preferred to remain on the front lines and continue working their way up the floors to clear the game. Granted, Yuki did too. But she felt she had sort of an obligation to help the lower players and any other player who may need her help, because they were all stuck in here together. The only way they would get out, is if they helped each other.

She didn't necessarily want to get out as quickly as she could, because even though she missed her old life, she felt more alive here in SAO. But she knew that her real life body was probably wasting away back in the real world, and if she didn't get out she may cease to exist in either world. So she knew that clearing the game was a must, whether she loved the world she was in for the moment or not. She gripped her shield tighter at the thought, furious that Akihito Kayaba would go to such lengths to trap a bunch of innocent people inside a video game. What kind of sick individual did that? She frowned angrily, willing her emotions not to take control of her, she needed to pay attention.

"We should start in the Town of Beginnings once we explore this floor and find out what's going on," She said quietly, yet loud enough for the others to hear her, "They probably need our help more than anyone. Think of all those innocent families down there, not knowing what to do," She said and scowled, "Either way, we need to fix this," She said adamantly. She would fix this, she didn't care how long it took. She would find the source of the problem, and she would get rid of it. She was the type of person that thought every life had value, and she would not continue to stand around and watch innocent people die. She just wouldn't.